St. Peter's Basilica Self Guided Audio Tour | Vox City (2023)

FAQs

Can you enter St Peter's Basilica without a tour guide? ›

If you prefer to visit the church directly without first taking a tour of the museums, then you can either wait in line or purchase fast track entrance to St. Peter's Basilica online.

Choose your own route in the church stopping only at the places and pieces that interest you. You will receive a QRCode that will allow you to download the audio guide track. . See the best of St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the self-guided tour lets you decide what you want to visit and when.

Saint Peter's Basilica skip-the-line tickets

This flexible option allows you to choose an entry time convenient to your schedule and there is no time limit to your visit. Feel free to explore the Basilica at your own pace and to discover and admire the beautiful artwork inside.

Visitors can get into the Basilica for free, but the long line is often as impressive as the building itself. The Basilica is open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. April to September and from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. October to March.

Peter's Basilica, men and women are required to cover their knees and shoulders. Men can wear trousers and shirts, while women can wear long skirts or dresses, both of which must cover the knees. Women are allowed to wear hats for mass, however, men must take their hats off before entering the Church.

Audio guide definitely. We spent 5 hours in the Vatican museum. Make sure you see more than the Sistine chapel, some areas are quite quiet.

Vatican Tickets Skip the Line Entrance with Audio Guide

For only 1 € fee you can jump that line and pick up your audio guide at a dedicated desk. The price of a pre-booked audioguide is 8,00 euros to be added to the ticket price. Opening hours: from Monday to Saturday, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm.

Best Time to Visit

Peter's Basilica is between 07:00 and 09:00, while the queues for security is still manageable. The worst time to arrive is between 10:00 - 14:00 when their are long queues for security.

Tours & Tickets St. Peter's Basilica. A visit to St Peter's Basilica is free, but you should expect long queues of two hours. Recommended: The most comfortable way to visit the basilica is with a guided tour.

Shoulders and knees must be covered within the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica (applies to both men and women).

How strict is the dress code in St Peters Basilica? ›

Peter's Basilica. Its basic code is for both men and women both need to cover their knees and upper arms. They prohibit wearing shorts or skirts above the knee, sleeveless tops, and low-cut shirts. Men must take their hats off before entering whereas women may continue wearing theirs.

Additionally, it is recommended to set aside at least 30 minutes to walk through Saint Peter's Basilica, or 1 hour if you plan to climb to the top. Leaving Vatican City through St. Peter's Square will take another 15-30 minutes.

Skip the line access will allow you to avoid large crowds and spend less time pointlessly waiting in long queues. This way, you can enjoy exploring the Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Gardens, St. Peter Basilica, and other attractions inside the Vatican. So book your Vatican tickets right away!

Mondays and Wednesdays tend to be more crowded than other weekdays. Saturday is the busiest day. Avoid holidays and important religious dates, they attract more visitors to Vatican. During Christmas holidays Vatican is overcrowded the same way as it is during the peak months (April-May, August-October).

Saint Peter Basilica is a working church and you do not need tickets nor advance booking for visiting. Other areas of the basilica however are ticketed, namely the dome, the Vatican treasure, St Peter's tomb and the necropolis. You can choose between several ticket options, guided and self-guided.

If you're not interested in a guided tour, you can purchase your tickets to the dome at the ticket kiosk. As mentioned above, the entrance is to the right of St. Peter's Basilica.

To get into St. Peter's Basilica you will need to cross a security checkpoint where your bags will be searched. Large bags are not permitted inside, but there are no set rules as to what constitutes a large bag. Regular backpacks are generally okay, but suitcases and rolling luggage are not.

There is a corridor, formerly for the exclusive use of the Popes, that goes from the Sistine Chapel directly into St Peter's Basilica. You are only allowed to go down this corridor if you are accompanied by a tour guide.

Masses are celebrated daily at St. Peter's Basilica, the world's largest church. The service is free to attend for the public. You don't need tickets; however, you do need to wait in line and clear the security checkpoint.

Are shorts OK for Vatican? ›

The dress code for the Vatican Museums is strict but easy to respect. Low-cut or sleeveless dresses, miniskirts, shorts and hats are not allowed. To cover knees and shoulders you can buy plastic cloaks to wrap around. Inside it is preferable to wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers.

An audio-guide is an electronic system similar to that of a music player that allows custom guided tours. Its function is based on giving detailed information about the work, object or location you are viewing. Such information can be historical, technique or a dramatisation to acclimate to the visitor.

Over 3 hours in the company of a truly special guide to the discovery of the artistic treasures of the Pope's Museums.

Renting an audio guide often involves long waiting times. By booking in advance, you can pick your audio guide at the desk only for advanced booking. The cost of advanced booking is only €1.00. Available languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Portuguese.

The best days to visit would be Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Avoid visiting on Saturday as you would see the maximum crowd then. The Pope holds an audience at St. Peter's Basilica every Wednesday of the month.

To avoid the long queues, a special passageway directly from the Sistine Chapel can bring you into the Basilica. This passageway is technically reserved for visitors in tour groups or with a private guide.

The Papal Audience takes place every Wednesday, it begins at 10.30 in the morning, and the duration of the Audience is about an hour and a half in which the Pope (sometimes) on board the “mobile pope” crosses St. Peter's Square.

Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is definitely worth a stop – and with my secret tips and tricks you can get inside while also avoiding the queues! In this article I am offering you 4 solutions on skipping the line to the Basilica (one of them is free!), as well as a bonus tip on how to join a free guided tour there.

Visitors can either walk the 320 steps or take the elevator, and this part of the visit also includes a trip out onto the roof, behind the statues of Jesus and the Apostles. The inner diameter of the dome in St Peter's is 42 metres.

The Sistine Chapel is located inside the Vatican Museums located on the right if we look at St. Peter's Basilica from St Peter's Square.

Are jeans OK in the Vatican? ›

The Vatican has a dress code that some travellers might not be aware of when visiting. Luckily if you're planning on wearing jeans to the Vatican, you definitely can! When you plan to visit, it's best to keep your knees and shoulders covered. And for footwear, you will need flat shoes, not flip-flops or casual sandals.

There is no specific rule about footwear in the Vatican city.

You can wear shorts in Italy and look perfectly normal.

We knew the temperature was expected to be in the mid-80s and 90s, but we also wanted to fit in with the local attire.

What shoes to wear at the Vatican. There are no special rules about shoes at the Vatican and you can wear closed shoes or sandals. While there is no specific rule about wearing flip flops at the Vatican, it is good practice not to.

Yes, while you can wear jeans to the Vatican, ensure they are basic and without flashy patterns or strategic ripping.

If you prefer to wear above the knee skirts and dresses, you may bring with you a spare pair of tights or leggings that cover the knees that you can wear under your dress or skirt. Just be sure you find a restroom to change in and out of them. At the Vatican there are public bathrooms on both sides of the square.

If you're not interested in a guided tour, you can purchase your tickets to the dome at the ticket kiosk. As mentioned above, the entrance is to the right of St. Peter's Basilica.

Admission is free to St Peter's Basilica and you do not need a ticket to enter. But note, be ready to plan for long-queues, unless you arrive very early.

93% of travellers recommend this experience. This number is based on the percentage of all Tripadvisor reviews for this product that have a bubble rating of 4 or higher. Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica Tour - Skip The Line!

Much like the rest of the Vatican the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica can be quite crowded and you will find a line of people waiting to get their tickets. You can't really get tickets in advance -they are only sold at the door. But typically, if you do a guided tour the guide will know how to dodge the lines.

How long does it take to climb the dome in St Peter's Basilica? ›

This takes about 3-5 hours, depending on the kind of visit you want. Climbing the dome takes and additional half hour to an hour (including time spent at the top.)

Even without a guide, it will take at least 2 hours to walk through the most important rooms. Additionally, it is recommended to set aside at least 30 minutes to walk through Saint Peter's Basilica, or 1 hour if you plan to climb to the top.

How to purchase a ticket. Tickets can be bought in person or online. All tickets bought in person are cheaper than tickets bought online. However, this option requires standing in line and risking the possibility of not gaining entrance into the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel.

All you need to do for a ticket is fill out a form and make a request. This form will need to be faxed back in order to receive tickets. Papal Audiences start at 10-10:30 am and last for between 60-90 minutes on average. Arrive at least 2 hours early in order to get a good seat.

Even though they are both situated in the Vatican City, St. Peter's basilica does not constitute part of the Vatican Museums. Unlike the Museums, the basilica is free to enter and you don't require a ticket to get in.

The Weekly Wednesdays Audience usually starts at 9:00am. The very popular Pope Francis is drawing in large crowds so if you would like to get a good seat you will need to arrive up to 3 hours before the audience begins. The audience lasts for around 1.1/2 - 2 hours.

Tours & Tickets St. Peter's Basilica. A visit to St Peter's Basilica is free, but you should expect long queues of two hours. Recommended: The most comfortable way to visit the basilica is with a guided tour.

THE ONLY OFFICIAL DRESS CODE REGULATIONS ARE THESE:

Women can wear sleeveless tops throughout the museums, but will be required to cover their shoulders with a scarf or another garment upon entering the Holy spaces. Men, however, must have sleeved shirts. No offensive graphic prints allowed.